Māori women in the public service receive an average of $17,600 per annum less than European men. Photo / Bevan Conley, File
Māori women in the public service receive an average of $17,600 per annum less than European men. Photo / Bevan Conley, File
OPINION
I wish to add an "s" to the gap referred to in the gender pay equality MindTheGap campaign, as a constant reminder. The gaps between women in terms of pay equity are significant.
Ethnic and gender pay gaps reported by the Public Service Commission set them out. In 2021,the average salaries in the public service were European men ($97,500), European women ($87,800), and Māori women ($79,900).
This is a new time for change. Women have not historically been in positions of power to challenge inequality and transform it. That picture is changing, albeit slowly.
Women are moving into senior positions where we can lead nation-building projects that offer new pathways to the Aotearoa that Te Tiriti promised. This is important. If inequality can be designed into systems, it can be designed out of them. That is both the challenge and the opportunity.
What can we do to design inequality out of our systems?
The structural conditions for the inequity wāhine Māori experience can be traced back to the signing of Te Tiriti / the Treaty of Waitangi. What was promised was a new society, built on a unique vision of co-governance (article one), which drew from the innovation and creativity of mātauranga Māori (article two) and the promise of equality for all (article three).
What we got was a society in which colonisation displaced Te Tirohanga Māori, Māori life and world view, and positioned the English language and culture as the new norm. The role and status of wāhine Māori was re-framed by English standards. Wai 2700, the Mana Wāhine Claim, currently being heard in the Waitangi Tribunal, aims to hold the Crown to account for its role in undermining the role and status of wāhine Māori.
The ugly truth is that the machinery of government itself remains a major vehicle of inequality. There is no escaping the reach of the state. The platform for change, then, has to be designed at multiple levels and launched simultaneously: the big picture, macro level; the organisational level; and the personal level, that actually touches the lives of women as citizens.
Moving forward, we need to front-foot what we do to tackle the inequities Māori women face head-on.
Kathie Irwin. Photo / Supplied
Here are some key actions we can take in the short, mid, and long term.
At the structural level: Advocate for structural change, including legislative change. Like the amendment of the Equal Pay Act 1972. Add ethnicity to the Act as a new category of discrimination protected by it. This would target discrimination on the basis of gender and ethnicity in remuneration rates. And Wai 2700, support the Mana Wāhine Claim in the Waitangi Tribunal.
At the institutional level: Report both ethnic and gender pay inequity in the Annual Report. Kaimahi (staff) can then easily monitor gaps in their own workplaces before deciding who to approach and how to do that, to challenge gaps. Make no mistake about it: it can be highly unsafe for wāhine Māori to challenge racism in the workplace. When the stats on gaps in gender and ethic pay equity are routinely reported the burden of providing evidentiary proof is lifted from the shoulders of those burdened by the weight of carrying it.
At the personal level: Invest in education and training that honours moemoea (vision), mana ake (self-belief) and pūtake (life-purpose). Rangatiratanga is a birthright embedded in Te Tiriti / The Treaty of Waitangi.
Education is the vehicle to transport wāhine Māori to fabulous new futures.
• Kathie Irwin & Associates is a consultancy that specialises in education, research and training.
